XING: The Land Beyond is an Atmospheric First-Person Puzzle Adventure game for the PC and Oculus Rift. Players are transported to the world of XING - an Afterlife where they must uncover secrets as to why they were sent there and who they are. Gameplay is mainly exploration, solving environment-based puzzles and gaining/using powers such as Rain and Snow to progress through levels.
In the land of XING you are crossing the threshold between life and death.
You are on a journey to earn your freedom, while freeing other spirits trapped in the in-between. Each realm you visit was once home to a spirit, which will act as a guide in telling the story of his/her life through scattered poetry. Spirits will also help you in your quest to solve puzzles, in the hopes that you will set them free when you pass through the final gate into oblivion...
What started out as a college Level Design 1 project turned 3 students into full time Indie developers. One game competition led to another, and after a successful Kickstarter in March of 2013, the 3 members (Koriel, John and James) decided they were going to make this game the best they possibly could. After Koriel and John graduated, the team spent the summer of 2013 planning out the road map for XING - as well as forming their own company: White Lotus Interactive LLC.
From there, they have been busy developing 40-70 hours per week - putting out promotional material whenever possible while trying not to lose momentum. As of now they each work remotely from their homes. Their philosophy has always been to "make something that we enjoy playing, and to continue to expand our skills and knowledge to further improve the quality of the game." John does tech-art, coding, sound design and music composition; James does modeling, coding, tech-art and environment design; and Koriel does story, sculpting, level/environment design, 2-D graphics and PR.
"This type of job is not for everyone, but we at White Lotus love it."
What if you had the power to go up to a gravestone, read the epitaph, and transport yourself into the past life of the deceased?
Our idea is to take players on a beautiful, fantastical and spiritual journey through the afterlife. It is non-combative and there are no time-restraints. We want players to feel intrigued by the story and puzzles presented, but also relaxed in the lush environments we create using the Unreal Engine 4.
The stories being told through the different lives of the deceased are meant to be very "human" and relate-able. This is so that the player can feel a connection to the other spirits trapped in the land of XING.
The puzzles we are creating are similar in difficulty to those of Portal 1, which are accessible for a wide audience. Ultimately we want children, teens, adults and seniors to be able to play our game and gain something from the experience.
Something we really take our time on is getting mechanics down right. We love our fire system (setting objects on fire), our snow and rain systems, and especially our time of day system. Players will unlock all of these and more to change their environments, and the way puzzles can be solved
April 2012
First XING Prototype wins 2nd place
in IEEE College competition
October 2012
3-Member Team Formed
March 2013
Kickstarted for $30k
June 2013
Started Oculus Rift Integration
July 2013
Registered White Lotus Interactive LLC
October 2013
Steam Greenlit
March 2014
Successful GDC Play Booth
April 2014
Switch from UE3 (UDK) to Unreal Engine 4
June 2014
Showcased at Indiecade's E3 Booth
July 2014
Released Public Oculus-Enabled Demo
August 2014
Indie Megabooth at Pax Prime draws long lines
September 2014
Demo at first Oculus Connect
October 2014
Demo at the Epic Games booth at IndieCade
April 2015
Chosen for Epic Games Developer Grant for $12k
"XING it a beautiful MYST-like game, it has an interesting mix of puzzles and spiritualism. However what really jumps out is how beautiful the game looks...Simply Amazing"
"I've had a chance to tool around with a pre-alpha build of the game, and even in that early state I came away impressed"
"Some game makers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on gigantic displays to draw the attention of E3 visitors. Others lurk in quiet corners, winning hearts one at a time."
"The atmospheric music and absolutely gorgeous graphics made my mouth drop"
"It’s an adventure videogame that taxes the player’s minds more than their trigger finger, placing them in a lost world setting filled with traps, puzzles and hidden treasure. Furthermore, the whole thing is absolutely gorgeous, as if you needed any more reason to invest your interest."
"We loved the emphasis on puzzle-based gaming and the beautiful environments that communicated a mood and story without ever saying a word."
"The world of XING exists to be explored, enjoyed, and solved...an impressive work worth keeping an eye on"
For press inquiries contact Koriel at
info@XINGthegame.com
Based in California, USA and Arizona, USA
© White Lotus Interactive LLC 2013
All Rights Reserved.
info@xingthegame.com
